The 32 colleges and universities of the edX consortium were joined by six non-university members on Thursday, as the massive open online course provider announced a new membership structure. New members include international organizations such as the Inter-American Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the Mexican public broadcaster Televisión Educativa, as well as the Learning by Giving Foundation, the Linux Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution.

Anant Agarwal, president of edX, said the expansion comes in response to student demand for a wider variety of courses. "We felt it was the right time to expand our membership structure, and to enable a more diverse group of members to come on board," he said.

The consortium also announced five new university partners -- Colgate University, Hamilton College, Osaka University, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid -- and the OpenCourseWare Consortium, which potentially adds hundreds more to the mix.

In a statement, Patrick D. Reynolds, Hamilton College's vice president for academic affairs, said the institution is joining edX to collaborate with other universities. "As we disseminate our experiences with the edX platform back to our respective faculties on campus, we can draw upon each other, building on current academic collaborations between the institutions," he said.